Artist Interview : SprATX Ignite : Sari Shryack

Sari Shryack, a recent local artist in the SprATX Ignite Program will soon be revealing her new body of work at her upcoming solo exhibition at SprATX on Friday, March 30th 5-7pm. RSVP to the upcoming opening reception here. Read below to learn more about the artist, her love for ATX, and her experience in the Ignite Studio.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Sari Shryack is an Austin-based painter focused on color and light in the rapidly changing neighborhoods of her city. Her work is influenced by 20th century American landscape art. By using colorful settings with inconspicuous identities as her inspiration, Sari seeks to encourage a recalibration of the value of place.

Sari’s career began in earnest at the beginning of 2016 when she challenged herself to create one painting a day. That project eventually morphed into a deliberate pursuit of her current landscape work. Several of her paintings can currently be found at galleries around Austin. She is trained in acrylics and earned her BA in Fine Arts from Drury University in 2014. Sari is also a mom to a one-year-old and finds time to be an artist in between naps and frequent walks around Town Lake.

INTERVIEW WITH SARI:

My name is Sari Shryack and I have lived in Austin, Texas for four years. Art has always seemed to be a big part of my life, from doodling as a young girl to developing a strong passion for painting in college. I’ve always loved working with acrylics and I love their versatility in the dynamic art that I create. My art is best described as contemporary impressionism.

SprATX: Tell us about the new artwork you’re planning on displaying later this month in the SprATX Gallery. What’s the significance of the body of work as a whole?

So much of my inspiration to paint scenes in Austin grew from my love of the east side. I spent so many of my early days in Austin in this area and developed a special place in my heart for East Cesar Chavez and the neighborhoods that surround it. My current project focuses on night scenes in this area— of quiet homes and structures lit with the bright shine of downtown Austin. My work is a reflection of Austin’s constantly shifting identity.

My SprATX gallery exhibit will feature paintings of many sizes, but I’m really excited to show my large scale work from this project. It’s the largest scale I’ve ever painted. Viewers can look forward to experiencing intimate Austin settings with vibrant colors and sharp contrasts. The selection for the show is deeply personal for me; I’m hoping that the viewer can experience a similar connection with my work in this gallery.

SprATX:. Who are your favorite artists? How have they helped shape your style?

In college I fell in love with the work of Edward Hopper and the American post-impressionists. Hopper’s work always conveys such specific mood, and I try to capture a similar feeling in my own paintings. My favorite post-impressionists— Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, and David Hockney— each have a romantic way of using color. Seeing their work always puts me in the right mindset to create.

More recently, the painter Christopher Burk has really caught my eye. His night series uses light incredibly well and it’s helped me learn to better implement that in my recent night paintings

My art is Austin— all of my paintings in this collection and most of my professional work are representations of scenes around this city that I call home. Austin is a beacon of potential for creatives and thinkers, and the constant activity here has inspired me to carve out my own path. The colors, sights, and sounds in ATX push me to experience new things all the time, and that curiosity has challenged me to represent it beautifully on canvas.

The art scene here is so conducive to success for up-and-coming artists. The people I’ve worked with are from different cities and backgrounds, but yet there is a strong sense of community within Austin’s art world.

SprATX:. Share a little about your experience in the SprATX Ignite Program.

I’ve had a blast working with SprATX in the Ignite Program. It’s refreshing to bounce ideas off artists who have found success in the business and the experience has motivated me to think beyond just my four walls. A career as a full-time artist is something I’ve wanted to be a reality for myself, and the SprATX Ignite Program has shown me what it takes to reach the next level.

SprATX: If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?

Do not be afraid to pursue your creativity. One thing that really worked for me as a creator was avoiding comparing myself to famous artists. When I would fret about not being good enough to become a full-time painter, that’s when my creativity would get stuck. So instead, I started small with simple drawings and built up from there. It has worked; in this age of social media, it can be easy to see everyone besides yourself as successful but that’s simply not true. We’re all a work in process. You’ll get there!